Barbosa and her passenger, 54-year-old Ilma Paula, told police they had been hired by the resident owner to clean the house. They said they taped over the tag to prevent reporters from tracking them down.

The police officer who originally stopped them and then called Boca Raton police was hired by next-door neighbor Lyn Houston, who said she was frightened by the crowds of strangers slipping in and out at night.

"When the sun goes down, you never know what Lokiboy is going to do," said Houston, referring to Barbosa's Facebook nickname.

"And he could be crawling around at night, doing who knows what," she said. "So I feel much better knowing that the police are here."

Bank of America, which owns the house, has filed a lawsuit seeking to eject Barbosa and eight unidentified others, and is seeking damages for breaking and entering. Barbosa has two more weeks to respond.